10-Year Gold Price Chart

Week of February 13th Gold Market Update

Precious metals are going to conclude the week with daily gains on Friday, but are going to finish the week overall mixed. On the whole, the last five days have been generally quiet and devoid of any noteworthy economic data. Of course, Thursday was an exception seeing as a few pieces of US economic data took the market by surprise. Other than that, investors the world over have had their attention focused on Europe for a majority of the week.

As we look ahead to the week to come, investors will see their attention drawn to many of the same issues that they have this week. There is not going to be too much in the way of economic data made public next week, so it is only right that the market continues to focus on Europe and everything going on there.

Ukrainian Ceasefire Agreement Reached

Perhaps the biggest story of the week came on Thursday in the form of a ceasefire agreement being reached between Ukrainian military forces and pro-Russian rebels. As a result of weeklong talks held in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and a few Western nations were able to see eye-to-eye and agree to a deal that will see the two fighting sides put down their weapons on Sunday.
Most surprising of all is the fact that, in the wake of the talks, German chancellor Angela Merkel was quick to praise Russian president Vladimir Putin for his efforts and contributions. As a leader who regularly throws a monkey wrench in peace talks such as these, it is intriguing to see Putin finally cooperate. Perhaps the sanctions levied against his country by the West have finally begun to sink in as they slowly but surely ravage the Russian economy.

For the global economy, the news of a ceasefire agreement being reached in Ukraine was enough to send stock indexes shooting upward. European and US stock markets are now trading at or near multi-year highs and are effectively limiting any upside momentum attained by gold and silver. Still, the weaker US Dollar is allowing metals to make gains to close out the week.
As we look ahead to the week to come, investors will continue to watch Ukraine to see if this ceasefire holds. Experts agree that much more needs to be done to resolve the situation, but also agree that this ceasefire is a step in the right direction. It will be interesting to see how things unfold over the coming days and weeks.